Tag Archives: Bordados dos Açores

Have you heard about the embroidery with straw from Faial Island – Azores?This embroidery has won an honorable mention at the last International Handicrafts Fair, unfortunately I can’t get any pictures of the work.The artisan isLina Silva and you can seeher work on the facebook page at photo album

You can read more about this embroidery in apost I have written long ago
Nota para as quatro, vá lá, cinco pessoas que ainda me leem – estou de boa saúde – a pausa deveu-se a uma avaria no computador, que tive que trocar, e leva algum tempo a adaptar-me. Novidades em breve, espero.Note to the four, maybe, five people who still read me – I’m in good health – the break was due to a computer malfunction, which I had to change, and it takes some time to adapt. News soon, I hope

The art of embroidery binds to oldest craftsmanship of Azores – weaving.Inventories of the nobility of the time record the existence of cottage industry of weaving and embroidery. The pieces were both for home or for religious use. From the 18th century linen and cotton fabrics began to be imported from Flanders and were also comes models of the time fashion, who were copied on the islands. Also other influences were feeling: India, England, Brazil and already in 19th the century from North America, either due to trade relations, but mainly to emigration.
A comercialização do Bordado de S. Miguel deve-se à iniciativa privada do maior grupo empresarial dos Açores, pertencente à família Bensaúde, nos anos 30 do séc. XX, que desenvolveu uma indústria artesanal vocacionada para exportação e cujo desenvolvimento não poderá ser dissociado da indústria de faiança pintada[i]
The marketing of Embroidery S. Miguel is due to the largest private corporate group in Azores, which belongs to Bensaude Family, in the 30 century. XX, which has developed a craft industry dedicated to export and whose development can not be separated from painted faience industry [i]

Os primeiros trabalhos de bordados e faianças foram apresentados em Lisboa em 1932, no Salão da Ilustração Portuguesa. Todos estes trabalhos foram mais tarde apresentados na Exposição do Mundo Moderno, em Paris, 1947.The first works of embroidery and pottery were presented in Lisbon in 1932. All these works were later presented in the Modern World Exhibition in Paris, 1947.

Today the typical S. Miguel embroideries recreates in needle-painting (long and short stitches) , the motives of the old oriental porcelain – Chinese sprigs, little flowers, some birds – facing from the corners to the center, forming loose branches, alternating with other larger and smaller ones. Using two shades of blue thread mouliné cotton (Anchor 508 and 510), or filoselle (silk) on linen or cotton or batiste, all white.